“Wow.”
“Wow is right,” Samuel nodded.
Right about then, the other guard came back. He shrugged. “The prince instructs us that as long as it doesn’t involve allowing them to leave the penthouse, we are to do whatever she says.”
Samuel grinned at me. “Looks like we have a new princess.” He then pushed the door open to reveal the other girls.
“Sam, dude,” the other guard said, “I don’t think making friends with the prince’s muse is good for your health.”
“Relax, Kyle. She’s alright.”
I raised my eyebrows and gave them a funny look. I was going to like those two. I stepped inside the girls’ quarters, not quite knowing what to expect. Four pairs of eyes fell on me as I entered. I was surprised to find that they all looked relieved to see me.
I realized I didn’t even know their names and they didn’t know mine, but it was almost as if we were long lost friends, because all four girls began throwing their arms around me.
“Are you alright?”
“What did he do to you?!”
“He didn’t… force you, did he?”
“Do you know what they’re going to do to us?”
“Will we ever get home?”
“Have you seen what’s outside? Is there any way we can escape?!”
Question after question came at me before I could even come up with a single answer. I tried to calm and settle them down so I could answer their questions. I started with,
“I’m fine. He didn’t force me or hurt me or feed on me. And I don’t think he will. I honestly think that while we’re here at the Blood Shade, our best bet of survival is to stay in Derek Novak’s good graces.”
Chapter 14: Derek
Not long after Sofia left us to discuss whatever it was that Vivienne saw as too confidential for her to hear, my siblings took me on a tour of the island, mainly the Crimson Fortress and how they’d fortified it over the past centuries. What used to be just what it was – a wall surrounding the island – was now home to over three hundred vampire guards and scouts who sought refuge at the Blood Shade and swore to defend it.
At certain key areas of the fortress, there were large stone houses with distinct pointed turrets in front of the buildings that lined the wall. I was told that several of the men and women belonging to the Elite trained for battle and were called Knights. The homes were theirs for times when they were called to duty at the wall.
The Elite consisted of the twenty original clans who swore allegiance to our family. They were those who fought and bled with us, hunted down by shadow hunters until we finally found sanctuary at the Blood Shade. Everyone else – guards, scouts and the lodgers – came only after the wall was built and Cora’s spell was able to provide permanent protection to the Blood Shade.
“Where do most of the human slaves stay?”
“Aside from the beauties that we keep at our homes for our entertainment, all the humans stay at Black Heights.” Lucas’ eyes twinkled at the mention of “the beauties”. My brother always had quite a penchant for beautiful young women.
I raised a brow. “The mountains?”
“We divided the network of caves we found there into the Cells and the slave quarters. Prisoners and newfound human captives – before they are assigned – are sent to the Cells. Humans live at the slave quarters, which they call the Catacombs,” Vivienne explained.
“The Catacombs?” I asked curiously.
“It’s supposed to be irony.” Lucas rolled his eyes. “In the Shade, it is the living who get to reside at the Catacombs.”
I shrugged it off and eyed the height of the wall protecting us. “Everything seems alright. I don’t understand why it is necessary that I wake from my sleep.”
“Things won’t always be alright, Derek,” Vivienne enthused. “The shadow hunters are more powerful than ever. They’re technologically advanced and have the support of wealthy and influential people. The Blood Shade remains undiscovered and safe, but other covens aren’t. The Shade is no longer a secret in vampire communities and other covens have threatened to attack us or expose us unless we take them in or find them a refuge of their own.”
I frowned. These same covens were the ones that shunned us and left us out to die when we needed their help against the hunters. They were then threatening to spill our blood if we don’t save them?
“What have we been doing about this then?”
“As we’ve already told you, father is meeting with the heads of other covens. From the last we heard of him, all covens will be dispatching their leaders or at least an ambassador to arrive here so we can talk further about a compromise.”